2013 started off with some impressive sales, including record prices for a mansion and a Ferrari. One famous baby even got a diamond-encrusted Barbie doll for her first birthday -- and you won't believe what it cost her parents.

It seemed like a great idea when travel portal Expedia spun off TripAdvisor last December. Stock in the longtime hub of online travel reviews soared. Then came Tuesday night's earnings report -- and the captain turned on the "Fasten your seatbelts" light.

Raising children is expensive, and depending on where you live, it can be much more so. We've examined the seven most costly child-rearing cities, and cross-checked them with a livability study to see if parents are really getting what they're paying for.

Home prices rose in March from February in most major U.S. cities for the first time in seven months. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index shows that prices increased in 12 of the 20 cities it tracks.

With gas prices shooting ever higher, cities such as Chicago, Las Vegas and Miami have either allowed cab drivers to levy fuel surcharges or are considering them. But in New York, where the drivers of nation's largest cab fleet are struggling to make ends meet, officials say a surcharge isn't even being considered.

In addition to the sporting issues involved in the fervent courting of LeBron James lies a less emotional, more pragmatic reason for why bigwigs like New York's Mayor Bloomberg care so much: cold, hard cash.

The Super Bowl is not so super to many economists. Experts in the economics of sports claim the NFL and its boosters have grossly overestimated the economic benefit of Sunday's championship game in Miami between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.